A researcher working for an MEP* posted, asking for comments on a newspaper piece the rep had authored. The thread contains various replies including a comprehensive one (see below) that contains materials that politicians might generally find of use. There is a UK slant to it as that's where the rep is, but much of the material is universally applicable since it puts the rep straight about numerous issues they'll see propaganda about:

* An MEP or Member of the European Parliament is a local elected representative, in this case from NE England, who attends the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. MEPs have no national-level role (that is for MPs or however they are titled in each country), they are supposed to represent their local area at the federation HQ.

Much of the law now comes from Brussels and is superior to national law in the 28 member countries of the EU. There are some similarities between the European federation of countries and the US federation of States (and plenty of differences of course).

The Euro currency union is a separate entity, not all EU countries belong to it. There is also another, separate group called the EFTA bloc, they comprise countries such as Norway and Switzerland who are trade members but not political or currency members. In addition, there are certain smaller areas that are of the 'freeport' type, such as Gibraltar and the Channel Islands, that are in some parts of the union but not others - their financial and border arrangements are different. The Schengen States are yet another grouping, comprising many of the 28 countries, who in theory have no internal borders between each other. Luckily none of this affects the general advice given....